Army prosecutors just sent Bowe Bergdahl's case to a general court-martial

US
Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held for nearly five
years by Afghan militants, was handed over to US Special
Operations forces in Afghanistan on May 31, 2014 in a swap for
five Taliban detainees.US
Army/Reuters

The attorney for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released in exchange
for five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in May of
2013, says the soldier's case has been referred for trial by a
general court-martial, according to the Associated Press.

Attorney Eugene Fidell says the convening authority did not
follow the advice of the preliminary hearing officer who had
recommended that Bergdahl's case be moved only to a special
misdemeanor-level military court

Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was held by the Taliban for nearly
five years after he walked off his post in Afghanistan on June
30, 2009. In March, Bergdahl was charged with desertion and
misbehavior before the enemy.

The case would also be inherently difficult to prosecute,
partly because of the still murky nature of Bergdahl's
intentions and state of mind in leaving in his base in
Afghanistan, and because of the years between the alleged crimes
and an actual court martial. "It would be challenging because of
the time that's elapsed to piece together all the circumstances
of him leaving the unit," Victor Hansen, a former JAG
officer and professor at the New England School of Law,
told Business Insider in June of 2014.

U.S.
President Barack Obama stands with the parents of U.S. Army
Sergeant Bergdahl at the White House in
WashingtonThomson
Reuters

Bergdahl could now be facing steep legal consequences. Bergdahl
was charged with desertion, a difficult-to-prove accusation that
requires military prosecutors to prove that he left his base
without intending to return. But he's also accused
of "misbehavior before the enemy," a rarely-invoked charge
in which prosecutors only have to prove that Bergdahl
"endanger[ed] fellow soldiers when he 'left without
authority; and wrongfully caused search and recovery
operations,'"
according to Military Times. Bergdahl could face life in
prison if convicted.

Bergdahl's case has drawn renewed attention as the
topic of season 2 of the popular podcast "Serial," which
premiered on December 10th and includes Begdahl's only
post-captivity media interview. In the premiere episode,
Bergdahl claimed that he intended to trigger a wide-scale
manhunt in leaving his base, but then changed his mind and
decided to walk to a forward operating base some 20 miles away
from his outpost.

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Army prosecutors just sent Bowe Bergdahl's case to a general court-martial

WASHINGTON (AP) — The attorney for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released in exchange for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, says the soldier's case has been referred for trial by a general court-martial.